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AB v Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust; Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 01

Group litigation — Whether doctors owed duty of care to parents when obtaining consent for post-mortem examination — Negligent failure to warn of organ removal and retention — Whether parents had a duty to bury deceased child's body — Whether property in a body or body parts, removed organs or tissue — Whether right of possession to retain removed organs and tissue — Tort of wrongful interference with a body or removed organs or tissue — Whether psychiatric injury reasonably foreseeable — Sections 1 and 2 of the Human Tissue Act 1961 — Articles 8 and 9 ECHR — Exemplary and aggravated damages

Crouch v King's Healthcare NHS Trust

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 50

Part 36 payments and offers — Offers to settle money claims — No payment into court — Effect on liability for costs under Part 36 CPR — Permission to withdraw or reduce — Court's discretion

Ruscillo v Council for Regulation of Health Care Professionals

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 65

New Council to supervise self-regulation in health care — Right of appeal to the High Court from the decisions of self-regulatory bodies — Whether the right extends to appealing acquittals of serious professional misconduct or merely to decisions as to sanction — Whether a caution was unduly lenient in the circumstances of the second case considered — Guidance given as to the approach to be adopted by the Council and the court

Sowden v Lodge; Drury v Crookdake

[2005] LS Law Med 86

Damages — Claims for future accommodation and care — Appropriate test to apply when deciding between private or residential based care regime — Defendant's entitlement to claim credit for future provision of Local Authority accommodation and care

Chester v Afshar

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 109

Duty to warn of possibility of causa equina damage — Proof of causation necessary to establish liability — Claimant proving she would not have undergone operation at that time had she been informed of the risk — Effective cause of injury — Claimant's right to autonomy and dignity — Departure from causation principles

Gregg v Scott

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 130

Clinical negligence — Delay in diagnosis of cancer — Causation — Loss of a chance — Whether damages to be awarded for reduction in chances of survival for 10 years

HL v UK

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 169

European Convention on Human Rights article 5 — Detention of incapacitated patient — Legality of informal admission to hospital — Whether patient detained — Whether patient of unsound mind — Whether detention in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law — Whether sufficient protection against arbitrary detention — Whether judicial review and habeas corpus proceedings sufficient protection under ECHR article 5 § 4 — Mental Health Act 1983, section 131

Goodson v HM Coroner for Bedfordshire and Luton

[2005] LS Law Med 202

Inquests — Deaths in hospital — Category of cases in which procedural obligation under ECHR article 2 to investigate death applied — Whether coroner required to obtain independent expert evidence on standard of medical care

Sheffield City Council v E and S

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 223

Inherent jurisdiction of court — Whether alleged patient has capacity to marry — Preliminary issue — Questions to be put to experts assisting court — Whether capacity to marry specific to proposed spouse — Nature of marriage contract — Duties and responsibilities of marriage — Ability to understand marriage contract

Threlfall v General Optical Council

[2005] LS Law Med 250

Disciplinary Committee of the General Optical Council — Duty to give reasons — Late reasons — Adequate reasons — Scope of duty of Optician referring patient to hospital — Serious professional misconduct.

JD v East Berkshire Community Health NHS Trust

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 263

Negligence — Duty of care — Liability of healthcare professionals and social workers for diagnosis and investigation of child abuse — Whether duty of care “fair, just and reasonable”.

Moy v Pettmann Smith

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 293

Barrister's negligence — Duty to give advice at “court door” — Extent of advice to be given — Duty to explain and give reasons — Duty to warn client as to risks — Section 1(5) of the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 and bar to appeal

Al Hamwi v Johnston

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 309

Consent to treatment — Antenatal screening advising of risks — Scope and nature of advice individual patient needs — Correcting misunderstandings — Breaking the chain of causation.

Bevan v General Medical Council

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 321

General Medical Council — Professional Conduct Committee — Sexual Misconduct — Emotionally vulnerable patient — Erasure — Appeal under section 40 Medical Act 1983 — Procedural unfairness — GMC seeking erasure — Appeal allowed — Suspension imposed

Markose v Epsom & St Helier NHS Trust

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 334

Spinal surgery — Option of conservative treatment — Extent to which options required to be discussed during consent procedure — Whether proper for consultant to recommend a particular course to the patient — Extent to which consultant must facilitate obtaining of a second opinion — Causation — Whether even assuming breach could be established, there was a causative link between surgery and neurological injury

McLarnon v Bradford District Care NHS Trust

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 345

Mental Health Act — Application for compulsory admission — Entitlement of managers to rely on facts stated in application — Compatibility with ECHR — Authority to treat — Need for second opinion after three months — Starting point of period

R (Campbell) v General Medical Council

[2005] LS Law Med 353

Judicial review of the Professional Conduct Committee of the General Medical Council — Whether personal mitigation relevant to determination of serious professional misconduct — Rules 28 and 29 of the General Medical Council Preliminary Proceedings Committee and Professional Conduct Committee (Procedure) Rules Order of Council 1988 — Adequacy of reasons — Double jeopardy — Whether declaratory relief appropriate remedy

CRHP v General Medical Council

[2005] LS Law Med 365

Professional disciplinary procedures of the General Medical Council — Misreporting of child abuse — Whether erasure from the Medical Register only appropriate sanction — Whether conditions imposed on registration too lenient

Godbold v Mahmood

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 379

Damages — Claims for future loss including accommodation and care — Whether future care to be provided in claimant's own home or in care home — Whether damages to be assessed on basis of private or state provision — Whether and to what extent liability to be discharged by order for periodical payments

London Borough of Islington v University College London Hospital

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 386

Duty of care — Statutory provision of care by local authority to person injured by negligence of NHS Trust — Recoverability of costs of care by local authority directly from NHS Trust — Whether duty of care owed by negligent tortfeasor to third party — Whether such a duty would be reasonably foreseeable, proximate and just, fair and reasonable

Walton v Calderdale Healthcare NHS Trust

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 398

Damages — Periodical payments — Future care — Contribution by local authorities to future care

R (Burke) v GMC

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 403

Medical treatment — Judicial review — Declaration as to lawfulness of GMC guidance — Declaration as to lawfulness of treatment — Best interests and autonomy of competent patient — the doctor's duty to care — European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, articles 2, 3, and 8 — Procedure: whether necessary to obtain court authorization before withdrawing artificial nutrition and hydration

McDonnell v Holwerda

[2005] Lloyd's Rep Med 423

Clinical Negligence — Duty of care — Breach of duty — Standard of care — Duty of GP to refer to hospital before specific symptoms develop — Assessment of risk relevant to breach of duty — Standard of care when treating children

Watson v GMC

[2005] LS Law Med 435

General Medical Council — Procedures of Fitness to Practise Panel where practitioner's health in issue — Whether medical assessors exceeded proper role — Whether opportunity given to practitioner to address Panel on substance of assessors' advice — Whether serious procedural error in proceedings